Google, YouTube and Web 2.0

Google surprised the world by announcing on October 9 it would acquire California-based video website YouTube for a stock-for-stock transaction of US$1.6bn. This amount is the highest Google has paid for a nifty website. But what makes this acquisition unique is that this is the highest price ever paid for a user-generated Web 2.0 content site.

YouTube simply adds to the Tribe of Google which boasts of areas as diverse as blogging, personalized search, satellite imagery, image management and cellular phone technology! The price tag of $1.6 billion has raised several eyebrows, and Google's economic wisdom is being challenged. However, what this deal means to web 2.0(a system of collaboration-based web development) has been widely ignored.

YouTube - a true Web 2.0 Company

YouTube, founded in 2005 by Chad Hurley and others, is in the genre of a true Web 2.0 media website consisting entirely of user-generated content. It ranks fourth in the sector after other US-based firms MySpace, Facebook and Wikipedia.

YouTube has played a major role in creating the new "clip culture". It is estimated to serve about a 100 million video clips every day to about 72 million unique visitors!

Under the new deal, YouTube is expected to retain its separate legal entity, with Google continuing to concentrate on its own Google Video website as a separate operation. But the deal with YouTube will increase its reach into the user-generated media content market. In this market, "there is a clear winner in [the] networking and social networking side of video", Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said. UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter commented: "Large advertisers are looking to spend more money with Google. Video is a major focus, and YouTube increases its inventory."

Where is the money?

What exactly is the business model behind the purchase? The official line from Google is that "YouTube acquisition is part of Google's ongoing mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." However, it is premised that Google plans to leverage its "advertiser relationships" - a reference to its strategy of combining Google Adsense for Video with Google Video.

The basic theme seems to be that YouTube will benefit from Google's ad platform when it comes to monetization. Google search will also "improve the search experience" for YouTube users.

Copyright worries

Copyright concerns are another area which will keep Google and its lawyers really busy. There have been several reports of users viewing illegally copied music videos, films and TV programs via the YouTube network. Critics have even drawn parallels to the now-redundant Napster network, despite having a far better record.

To its credit, YouTube has struck deals with Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, in an effort to reduce copyright lawsuits.

This deal is a great one for YouTube, and hopefully a good strategic move for Google. The web community is anxiously asking the question: who is next? Of course, the Facebook-Yahoo! deal looks more likely to happen now. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Benefits Of Video On Your Website

There are many new technologies that are becoming more common practice on websites today, one of them being videos. There are so many benefits to using video on your website that statistics have shown it can triple your opt-in rate, increase conversion by 300%, and increase traffic by viral marketing. If these reasons aren’t enough to consider the benefits of video on your website, then I don’t know what else will.

Many people may be scared of the idea of making their own video, but the process is much simpler than you might think. Most computers already come with the software you need to make a simple video on your site. It is called Windows Movie Maker. This will give you a basic video to start with and play around with until you learn more advanced techniques.

You can use this program, (or others out there), and either upload live video that you have recorded, or if you are more camera shy, you can use free clipart like ones provided by Microsoft or many other locations on the internet. Video can have very powerful effects when added to your site. They give it a personal presence, which is important to any website. When you are known by only a url or name, your picture, signature or a video with your voice adds an element to which people can connect and will increase your opt-in rate, conversion and traffic.

If you add video to your site, I highly suggest you add a tell-a-friend script under it to have your visits get more traffic there for you. These two components used together can give you amazing results.

So here is the process: make your video to introduce your website, introduce yourself, further explain an idea or product you have on your site….. the ideas are endless. Next upload the video onto Google videos, Youtube, or any effective site that will be pertinent to your niche. Next, put it on your homepage, or relevant page with the tell-a-friend script and you’re done! Sit back and watch the powerful effect this will have on your website.

Adding video to your website is a simple and highly effective technique that you need to be taking advantage of so that you can compete with the “big dogs”.